Marfa is a weird place: With fewer than 2,000 residents, the town has its own NPR station but no decent grocery store. There’s an indie bookshop yet only a smattering of restaurants, none of which keep regular hours. And although Marfa is isolated even by West Texas standards—hours from the closest airport—it’s home to 16 art galleries (that’s about one for every 124 residents) as well as the Chinati Foundation, which holds hundreds of works by artists such as Dan Flavin, John Chamberlain, and local hero Donald Judd. Over the past decade a pilgrimage to Marfa has become a bucket list trip for anyone who wants to appear culturally plugged in. Which is why big hotel brands have been eyeing investments in this underserved little boomtown.

Predictably, residents would rather keep Marfa local—and yes, weird—including former Chinati board member Tim Crowley,
who’s staving off the big brands by offering his own vision of what a smarter, more stylish hotel here can be. The longtime resident has converted a 1930 low-slung stucco building downtown into the

Hotel Saint George (set to open this month), named for an inn that occupied the same site from 1886 to 1924. Crowley’s hope was to give visitors a higher-end alternative to Marfa’s motels and campgrounds—something it sorely needs when, say, the director of the Pompidou pops in from Paris.

An exterior view of the Hotel Saint George.

Photo by Casey Dunn

But beyond the novelty of a full-service stay, it’s the hotel’s art collection that will get people talking. Nearly 300 works by regional artists such as Christopher Wool, Mark Flood, and Jeff Elrod are exhibited throughout, including pieces in all 55 guest rooms. But the Saint George is more than an art hotel—a phrase, it turns out, Crowley loathes: “Art hotels are usually missing one thing—good art,” he says. “This hotel is more a reflection of the history and community of the artists, writers, and craftsmen who have called Marfa home.” That starts with the structure itself: Architects at the Houston-based Carlos Jiménez Studio preserved the original wood beams and poured-­concrete columns, and reused 100-year-old bricks. Marfa furniture maker Joey Benton of Silla built the front desk from metal and rich mahogany, while resident welder Mac White—“who’s just as likely out fixing a horse trailer,” says Crowley—created the massive steel doors at the entrance.

Known for its hiking, camping, sunsets (and sunrises), Big Bend consists of 801,163 acres of river canyons, desert, mountains, and much, much more—think more than 1,200 species of plants, more than 450 species of birds, some 56 species of reptiles, and more than 70 species of mammals. It is the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the country.

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This sprawling park is made up of 3,840 acres of sand dunes that grow and change shape each year depending on the wind. Visitors to the park usually rent a disk to surf down the dunes, which reach up to 70 feet high.

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Find the best fields of the official flower of the Lone Star State in Willow City, two hours west of Austin. The Willow City Loop is in bloom during bluebonnet season, from March through late May.

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This downtown Austin building is far more famous for its architecture, construction, and grounds than for what it actually houses: the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and the Office of the Governor. Completed in 1888, the marble and granite structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

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Thank Mother Nature for this natural pool just west of Austin, which was formed thousands of years ago when an underground river collapsed because of erosion. The quarter-mile trek downhill to the preserve can be tricky at times, but a swim in jade-green waters—and a shower from the 50-foot waterfall—is well worth the (literal) hike.

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On the border of north Texas and Louisiana, this 25,400-acre wetland comprises a veritable maze of vegetation, bayous, and ponds. Camp, hike, fish, boat, and picnic in the area, but look out for alligators, which are known to swim—and bask—in areas of the park.

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Designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the museum is as stunning on the inside as it is on the outside, showcasing about 150 modern works from artists as diverse as Pablo Picasso and Dan Flavin.

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With its sweeping West Texas plains and world-famous art installations, Marfa is a nature lover’s dream and an Instagrammer’s paradise.

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The small city of Sonora may be relatively unassuming, but eight miles west of it sit these caverns, which are estimated to have formed 1.5 to 5 million years ago. Descend 155 feet underground and choose from a range of curated tours through the caves, which have been open to the public since 1960.

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The second largest canyon in the U.S. (the Grand Canyon takes first place), Palo Duro Canyon is 800 feet deep. Keep an eye open for hoodoos, rock formations with a larger rock balancing on top of a smaller one.

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A UNESCO World Heritage site, San Antonio's the Alamo was the site of a pivotal battle in the Texas Revolution. While it has long been remembered as a battleground, the historical site first began as a Catholic mission.

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Crowley wants the Saint George to serve as a cultural hub for visitors and residents—much like other boutique hotels that have opened across the country (the Dean in Providence, the Ace Hotel in Pittsburgh). It will house the new location of the Marfa Book Company, a decades-old institution that hosts readings and lectures all year. Allison Jenkins, formerly of Aspen’s Ajax Tavern and Austin’s LaV restaurant, is the chef behind the hotel’s LaVenture restaurant, which will serve French-inspired dishes, while—to the locals’ sweet relief—the hotel’s casual café will serve three full meals a day. And whether or not you dub the Saint George an art hotel, its collection is a remarkable gathering of some of the world’s greatest artists—or, as Marfa residents call them, neighbors.